In a nutshell, INTERDISCIPLINARY PUBLIC HISTORY is the research and delivery of educational history content utilizing multiple methods of inquiry and presentation.

“Interdisciplinary history” indicates the practice of producing well-researched, thoughtfully-interpreted work in topics of history, investigated via the use of a wide variety of primary and secondary sources in multiple academic disciplines.
The “Public” portion of the phrase refers to offering material to a global audience by public means.

The method of delivery may include but is not limited to: published text (such as books, articles, blog posts, or silly documents such as the Indenture I created for myself as a course assignment while pursuing my Master’s degree); audio recordings (such as podcasts); video exploration (such as documentary films or how-to instruction); living history presentation (where the historian assumes the role of a particular person, real or imagined, from a particular era, place, and event in history); academic lectures (such as conference presentations or classroom instruction); social media postings (such as a Twitter feed, Instagram photo collection, or TikTok video clips); guided or free-form discussions to tackle a topic of public interest with live interaction; and question-and-answer sessions between an audience and one or more experts who have conducted such research (such as a Zoom meeting or a Facebook Live chat).

As new technologies emerge, new methods of history delivery to audiences around the globe will enhance the experience of Public History for both scholars and the interested students/audiences.

Want to learn more about how to research and present Interdisciplinary Public History? Contact Melanie today!

Tell me your project ideas, and we can work out a research plan and method of delivery that’s right for you. Not sure where to start? That’s what I’m here for. No project is too big, too small, or too far away.